Cotton Mather strikes again? A group of New England spiritualists ostracized an employee for "witchcraft." New Age Witch Hunt From the Files of Fortean Slips by D. Trull Enigma Editor dtrull@parascope.com New England bears a shameful history of religious zealots casting out women on trumped-up charges of witchcraft. At least those primitive days are long dead and gone, right? Assuming such an anachronism could still turn up, you might figure the rabble-rousers in question would have to be some kind of puritan Christian fundamentalists, like a renegade sect of Amish hardliners. Well, guess again. A modern-day witch hunt has left a Maine woman ostracized by her church and her professional reputation in ruins. To make this case of persecutory deja vu even more bizarre, the organization that threw out the so-called witch is the National Spiritualist Association of Churches. Spiritualists claim to communicate with the dead as part of their standard religious practices. Valerie Van Winkle works as a spirit medium in Lincolnville, Maine. Until recently she was also employed as a Spiritualist church official, in charge of its Maine summer camp. At a gathering that has since been described as a "witch trial," the association's board members stripped Van Winkle of her position and decreed that she may not act as an official Spiritualist medium for five years, on the grounds that she is a witch. Boasting over 2,500 members, the Spiritualist church began in New York state about 150 years ago. Its founders were two sisters who used their alleged abilities as mediums to bridge the gap between this world and the afterlife. The church plainly does not consider such acts the same thing as witchcraft. Among the charges leveled, a town clerk testified that Van Winkle threatened to put a hex on her while meeting to discuss taxes owed by the summer camp. Spiritualist officials additionally cited Van Winkle's predilection for wearing black and her "excessive fondness for cats" as evidence. "She had publicly stated that she was a witch," said Brenda Wittich, president of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, "which is a non-related religious organization separate from our organization, which is in violation of our constitution and bylaws." For her part, Van Winkle denies that she is a witch or ever claimed to be one. "They have convicted me on false testimony by people who hope to gain from it," she said. "Life is very uncomfortable: this is a very small town, and I am being accused of being the Anti-Christ." Publicity from the charges has led to harassment by townspeople and has adversely affected her business as a medium. Incidentally, Van Winkle does own up to one extraordinary claim: that an ancestor of hers was the source of inspiration for Washington Irving's character, Rip Van Winkle. A whopper of an irony, considering how her farcical imbroglio appears to have awaken after a century's slumber. It's tempting to brand this a case of the pot calling the cauldron black, but that wouldn't be fair. Just because a religion believes some wacky stuff, it doesn't necessarily follow that it should believe ALL wacky stuff. If Spiritualists don't think witchcraft is a hot idea, good for them. That's what freedom of religion is all about. So maybe the moral of the story is this: if you're going to be a witch (or medium, or spiritual adept, or whatever you prefer to call it), you have to make a choice. You can be like Samantha on "Bewitched," and struggle to assimilate into suburban whitebread society with a geeky ad-man husband and conceal your true nature at every turn. Or you can do the honorable thing and come out of the closet -- even go all-out on the Broom Hilda tip, cackling with pride for your eye of newt and wart of nose -- and say to hell with any other person or group that doesn't care for who you are. Maybe literally, if you're really good. (c) Copyright 1996 ParaScope, Inc. Next: A REALLY Light Lunch Fortean Slips Index What do you think? Share your views in the message boards!